Vizio’s 2009 HDTV Lineup: 240-Hz Tech, Live TV Pausing

Vizio this week unveiled its 2009 HDTV lineup, consisting of its first HDTV with 240-Hz technology and an LED backlight.

Although sometimes considered a second-tier brand compared to multinational giants like Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba, Vizio has twice been recognized as the most popular brand of HDTVs within the United States, primarily because the company concentrates on offering inexpensive TVs that contain the same features that its more expensive competitors have, as well as a sales channel that includes Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer.

Click on the images for a larger version.

The XVT lineup is Vizio’s premier brand, with the flagship VF551XVT the only one of Vizio’s HDTVs to include both an LED backlight as well as 240-Hz technology, which promises to smooth the displayed image even more than 120-Hz technology. Because of the large number of models, we’re going to use the blog format to our advantage and present Vizio’s lineup as a series of graphics, ranging from the $749, 32-inch SV320XVT on up to the VF551XVT.

Vizio also announced that it has filed a patent-infringement suit against LG Electronics, and that a similar case against Funai is moving ahead.

All of the models in the XVT line include dedicated USB inputs as well
as a 2,0000:1 contrast ratio, plus SRS TruSurround audio as well as
TruVolume, a technology to keep the audio at a fixed level when
commercials are played, which typically raises them to annoying levels.

The “M” series, by contrast, include both the VL and the VT series
sub-categories, with the former including a brushed color treatment,
and the VT series housed in a sort of wood-styled chassis. Here, the
selling points are also a USB multimedia feature that can play back
content stored on a thumb drive or USB drive, as well as a “Pause Live
TV” feature, which offers the ability to cache a small portion of a
live TV broadcast with the need for a TiVo or other DVR. Each model has
multiple HDMI inputs, according to Vizio, and many include a side HDMI
port as well. The contrast ratio is 50,000:1.

Finally, there are the “E” series, Vizio’s value line. Again,
TruSurround is used, and Vizio claims that several will also include
the EcoHD technology, which lowers power levels about 20 percent below
Energy Star 3.0 requirements.